Folding bed



(No Model.)

` H. S. HALE.

` FOLDING BED. l

No. 431, 7. Patented July 8., 1890.

FIG-.L

wut" l MM Fl Gas. 247? www mvEN-roa.

UNITED STATES;

PATENT OEEICE.

HENRY S. HALE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,657, dated July 8, 1890.

Application tiled May 8, 1889. Serial No. 310,015. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HALE, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to folding beds g and it consists of certain improvements which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. A serious fault that exists in many folding beds is that they are without means to lock the feet at the foot of the' bed in position when the bed is lowered, 'so that the said feet cannot be pushed or knocked out of place by accident. In folding beds having mechanically-operated footboards, or those in which the foot-board is connected by mechanical devices with some stationary part of the structure, and thereby caused to swing out in lowering the bed, the foot board and legs are practically locked against displacement. In folding beds having the feet at the foot of the bed operated by gravity this is not the case, and hence the liability of their displacement, and the present invention is intended to accomplish the locking of the said feet automatically, so that the moment the bed is lowered and the feet come in contact with the floor they are firmly locked to the body of the bed and cannot be shifted or released until the bed is raised, when they are again automatically unlocked.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional l,side elevation of a folding bed embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of same on the line XX of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end or foot of a folding bed illustrating my invention, showthe bed opened. Fig. is a vertical sectional view through the line Y Y of Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the foot or end Vof the bed, illustrating the operation of my finvention when the bedis being raised or folded up or vice versa; and Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the closed bed.

A is the main body of the bed, having th side boards B and foot-board C.

D is the stationary upright portion or head of the bed.

It is immaterial to the present invention in what manner lthe bed is made to fold and unfold. I prefer, however, the construction shown inFig. 1, in which the side boards B are pivot-ed at bto the segments E, working in the racks F, and the heads of these side boards are provided with hooks or arms Gr, supporting a sliding box or receptacle containing counterbalanci11g-weight H. This construction, however, is no part of the present invention, and may, if desired, be replaced by any other mechanism suited to the purpose.

I are the feet, hinged ati to the main body of the bed or to the foot-board C.

J are supports secured to the feet I, to

which are pivoted the locking-levers K. The

The main body of the bed is provided at its i foot or endwith an opening L, through which the raised or locking arms of the levers K may project.

M are angular plates secured upon that edge of the opening L most distant from the footboard C and adapted to receive the ilattened or curved ends lo of the levers K. The ends of the weighted arms k of thelevers K extend into recesses N within the feet I.

O are pins carried by supports J within the feet I, andhaving their ends projecting into the recesses N. Springs P are employed to actuate the pins O and encircle them for convenience of construction. The ends of the weighted arms 7c of the levers K extending into theyrecess N rest upon the ends of the pins O therein, and itis apparent that as these pins are projected or withdrawn a greater or less distance within the recesses N the arms la of the levers will be correspondingly raised and lowered. The springs acting on the pins O may be arranged yto either force the pins in when relieved or force them out. In Fig. 2 the springs P are shown as adaptedto lift the pins O just as soon as the weighted parts 7c of the levers K are lifted from the said pins and made to assume lthe position shown in Fig. 4 by striking against the foot-board C of the bed when the bed is folded up. When the bed is being lowered, the levers K are freed, and the weighted ends k press yupon the up- IOO per parts of the pins O and force the heads o of the pins down, so as to come into contact with the oor. As soon as the heads o strike the oor the pins are projected upward within the feet and oscillate the levers K, causing the ends 7c to be forced down into the crotch of the angle-iron M on the bed-bottom B. This holds the legs from bein g shifted. The pressure cornes directly on the heads of the pins, and hence the end 7n of the lever is held tightly down into' the crotch of the angle-plate, and thus prevents the shifting of the feet I. In this construction the spring P is made sufficiently light to be overcome by the weight of the Weighted end k. In Figs. 4 and 5 the springs are shown as adapted to force down the pins O, so as to project their heads below the feet when the latter are raised. vIn this case the springs are compressed when the heads 0 strike the floor. The levers K are constructed the same in this case as in the other, but they are not relied upon to project the pins O. Either construction may be employed, as desired.

The hinged feet I, as shown in Fig. 6, may form part of a decoration or ornamentation of the front of the closed bed. When the springs P act to pull in the pins O, they are of such strength that the weight k of the arm K is sufliciently heavy to push the pins O out and compress the spring. When, however, the bed is being folded up, the lever 7c strikes the foot-board C, Fig, 4, and this removes the weight 7c from the spring, which then instantly pulls in the pin. The springP is not a necessity, and,if used, should be madelight. Thesepins act as pressure devices for actuating the locking-levers K. It is evident that the principle of locking the feet by the Weight of the bed applied through positive locking mechanism may be applied in numerous ways hence the present drawings are only designed to illustrate the principle of the invention.

jecting heads O of the pins are forced up,

projecting the upper parts thereof a greater dist-ance into the recessrN and correspondingly raising the weighted ends la of the levers K. This forces down the other ends of the levers, bringing their flattened or curved ends lo in contact with the crotch of the angular plates M. Now it is apparent that the feet I will be rigidly locked against lateral movement, since the levers K, which are pivoted to the feet, are locked into the angular plates M by the pins O, the horizontal portions of these plates preventing the locking ends of the levers from descending, which would allow of outward movement to the feet, and since the pressure of the pins O upon the ends 7c prevents them from rising the vertical parts of the plates M prevent inward movement to the feet. When the bed is lifted so that the feet I are raised from the iloor, the springs P depress the bolts, allowing the weighted ends k of the levers K to from view the projecting ends of the bolts A and give to the closed bed the appearance of a ward robe or closet, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. It is apparent that only one of the leverlocking devices may be employed, though it will afford less security than the two levers, j

yas shown.

Vhile I prefer the details of construction which are here shown, it is apparent that they may be modified in many ways without departing from the principles of my invention, and are not to be taken as limitations of it.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A folding bed having feet loosely pivoted at the foot thereof and operated by gravity, in j combination with mechanism controlled bythe feet to automatically lock said feet against lateral movement when the bed is opened or unfolded, consisting of a lever carried by the feet, a catch for the lever on the bed-body, and a movable extension for operating t-he lever, projecting below the feet, so as to strike the fioor.

2. A folding bed having feet pivoted atthe foot thereof, in combination with an automatic lock carried by said feet to lock them against lateral movement when the bed is opened or unfolded, consisting of alever movable with the feet, a catch for the lever on the bed-body, and a spring-actuated part adapted to strike the oor when .the bed is lowered to hold the lever in the catch.

3. A folding bed having feet pivoted at its foot, and in combination with a lever carried by the foot and adapted to lock the feet to the main or body portion of the bed, and pressure devices also carried by the feet and extending from the lever to a point below the feet, so as to strike floor, so as to employ the weight of the bed to lock the lever in locking position when the bed is down.

4. In a folding bed, the combination of the pivoted body part with feet hinged to the body part at its foot portion, and a movable locking-connection between the feet and body part of the bed, and a bolt extending down below the feet, so as to strike the ioor and be shifted upon lowering the bed to operate said locking connection and lock said feet to the body part.

. 5. In a folding bed, the combination of the IOO IIO

main body of the bed, feetpivoted thereto, a Weighted locking-lever carried thereby, and a bolt secured to said feet, having its upper end arranged to strike the lever to lock it to the4 bed and its lower end projecting` beyond the bottom of the said feet to Strike the Hoor, the whole operating to look the feet against lateral movement when the bed is lowered or unfolded.

G. In a folding bed, the combination of thel lock said levers in said catches when the bed is opened and the feet rest upon the floor.

7. In a folding` bed, the combination of the main body of the bed, feet pivoted thereto,a weighted locking-leveroarried thereby, and a spring-actuated bolt secured to said feet, having its upper end arranged to strike the lever to lock it to the bed and its lower end projecting beyond the bottom of the said feet j to strike the iioor, the whole operating to look the feet against'lateral movement when the bed is lowered or unfolded.

8. The combination, in a folding bed, of the pivoted body part, the hinged feet at the foot thereof, operating by gravity, and a lock carried by but movable with and also independent of the feet, but projecting below them to strike the floor and actuated by the Weight of the bed to lock said feet to the body part.

9. In a folding bed, the combination of the main body of the bed,provided With an opening near its foot, a catch in said opening, feet pivoted to the foot of said bed, a locking-lever carried by said feet, adapted to engage with said catch and extending through said opening, and a spring-bolt carried by said feet, with its upper part arranged to operate the lever and its lower end projecting beyond the bottom of the feet.

In testimony of Which invention I hereunto set my hand.

kHENRY S. HALE. IVitnesses:

GEO. W. REED, ALPHoNsUs J. DUNN. 

